The Best Books About Film

["membrillo"]

Can anyone recommend the best book out there on James Dean? One that covers his life and career?

The problem with books on James Dean is that many contradict themselves - because of people who knew him and people who "knew" him.

Anyway I would say the two best books are:

"James Dean: The Mutant King" by David Dalton
"Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean" by Donald Spoto

I would skip the Bill Bast material.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

[quote=""membrillo""]

Can anyone recommend the best book out there on James Dean? One that covers his life and career?

The problem with books on James Dean is that many contradict themselves - because of people who knew him and people who "knew" him.

Anyway I would say the two best books are:

"James Dean: The Mutant King" by David Dalton
"Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean" by Donald Spoto

I would skip the Bill Bast material.[/quote]
Thanks! I will check out those first two. I was wondering about the Bast book so thanks for the tip on that one.

[Murdoch]

Is TASCHEN's Ingmar Bergman Archives worth the $124 it's going for on amazon? I'm looking for a good Bergman book to pick up, and since I loved the Kubrick archives this seemed like a good choice.

[broadwayrock]

If you liked the Kubrick one then you'll know what to expect with this Bergman one. It thoroughly covers both his film and theater work and has plenty of high quality photographs. I'd recommend it, but there might be an chance of it getting a discount in the run up to Christmas.

The included DVD is good with Torbjorn Ehrnvall's Saraband video diary being a highlight: Liv Ullman gossiping with Erland Josephson on whether that Max von Sydow has had a face lift and there is also a moving recording of Ehrnvall's last phone call to Bergman.

[Murdoch]

If you liked the Kubrick one then you'll know what to expect with this Bergman one. It thoroughly covers both his film and theater work and has plenty of high quality photographs. I'd recommend it, but there might be an chance of it getting a discount in the run up to Christmas.

The included DVD is good with Torbjorn Ehrnvall's Saraband video diary being a highlight: Liv Ullman gossiping with Erland Josephson on whether that Max von Sydow has had a face lift and there is also a moving recording of Ehrnvall's last phone call to Bergman.

Thanks, the DVD sounds great and I've read a few reviews now so this has become a no-brainer for me.

[Awesome Welles]

It would be for me too but that price is a little too steep, is it likely this will get a re-release at the lower price like the Kubrick, only without the DVD which I wouldn't mind missing out on.

[Aletheia]

[quote=""membrillo""]

Can anyone recommend the best book out there on James Dean? One that covers his life and career?

The problem with books on James Dean is that many contradict themselves - because of people who knew him and people who "knew" him.

Anyway I would say the two best books are:

"James Dean: The Mutant King" by David Dalton
"Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean" by Donald Spoto

I would skip the Bill Bast material.

Thanks! I will check out those first two. I was wondering about the Bast book so thanks for the tip on that one.[/quote]
Donald certainly did not know him. I thought it was the most sterile, formulaic and rudimentary of all the biographies on Dean that I've read.

His disdain for Dean and general negativity on his status as an iconic movie star is overt in every chapter. Essentially it's just a cut and paste job appropriating most of the anecdotal material from Joe Hyams's 1992 "Little Boy Lost" an excellent work by someone who actually knew him. I don't expect a hagiography when I read a bio, but when the author has so little understanding or empathy for his subject you think why bother...unless the advance was good!

Other recommendations apart from "Little Boy Lost" are “The Unabridged James Dean: His Life and Legacy from A. to Z." by Randal Riese this conveys the material in a lexicon format but is really comprehensive and detailed.

Also "James Dean A Short Life" by Venable Herndon which came out the same year as the Mutant King but while not as ambitious, is for me better written and more focused.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Donald certainly did not know him. I thought it was the most sterile, formulaic and rudimentary of all the biographies on Dean that I've read.

His disdain for Dean and general negativity on his status as an iconic movie star is overt in every chapter. Essentially it's just a cut and paste job appropriating most of the anecdotal material from Joe Hyams's 1992 "Little Boy Lost" an excellent work by someone who actually knew him. I don't expect a hagiography when I read a bio, but when the author has so little understanding or empathy for his subject you think why bother...unless the advance was good!

Other recommendations apart from "Little Boy Lost" are “The Unabridged James Dean: His Life and Legacy from A. to Z." by Randal Riese this conveys the material in a lexicon format but is really comprehensive and detailed.

Also "James Dean A Short Life" by Venable Herndon which came out the same year as the Mutant King but while not as ambitious, is for me better written and more focused.

Thanks for the recommendations, esp. on the Spoto book.

[Highway 61]

Can anyone recommend books or articles on Jacques Tati (in English or in French)? I'm looking more for biography than criticism, but either would be great.

["membrillo"]

[quote=""membrillo""]

Can anyone recommend the best book out there on James Dean? One that covers his life and career?

The problem with books on James Dean is that many contradict themselves - because of people who knew him and people who "knew" him.

Anyway I would say the two best books are:

"James Dean: The Mutant King" by David Dalton
"Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean" by Donald Spoto

I would skip the Bill Bast material.

Thanks! I will check out those first two. I was wondering about the Bast book so thanks for the tip on that one.

Donald certainly did not know him. I thought it was the most sterile, formulaic and rudimentary of all the biographies on Dean that I've read.

His disdain for Dean and general negativity on his status as an iconic movie star is overt in every chapter. Essentially it's just a cut and paste job appropriating most of the anecdotal material from Joe Hyams's 1992 "Little Boy Lost" an excellent work by someone who actually knew him. I don't expect a hagiography when I read a bio, but when the author has so little understanding or empathy for his subject you think why bother...unless the advance was good!

Other recommendations apart from "Little Boy Lost" are “The Unabridged James Dean: His Life and Legacy from A. to Z." by Randal Riese this conveys the material in a lexicon format but is really comprehensive and detailed.

Also "James Dean A Short Life" by Venable Herndon which came out the same year as the Mutant King but while not as ambitious, is for me better written and more focused.[/quote]
Regarding the Spoto book - "sterile and formulaic" are exactly why I made this recommendation. It is an easy read, dispassionate and basic. However it covers the requestors criteria by covering J.D.'s life and career. I prefer this to stumbling across a homoerotic or phsycophantic biography which is what 90% of them are. (Paul Alexanders "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" quickly comes to mind) I would argue that Spoto's work has a more avuncular tone.

There are a million bios out there. Shit, even Morrissey wrote a small biography called "James Dean is not Dead" before he was in The Smiths.

While I agree that "Little Boy Lost" is a great biography, I would not recommend it as an entree to Deans life. I would recommend it a essential reading for any serious fan of James Dean.

[Aletheia]

Let me qualify this post by first saying I’ve been fascinated with Dean since I was 14 years old. I must own practically every biography and photo-essay that has been published on this actor. So it’s probably a little difficult for me to be as dispassionate as you suggest Donald Spoto was, when judging the myriad wealth of material that has been written about/around him.

I agree that Dean has been a cipher for numerous biographers, with agendas that attempt to define or redefine his bi-sexuality. Bast and John Gilmore have written legitimately about this component of Dean’s persona, and then you have the ridiculous "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", as lurid and exploitative a text as seemingly possible.

But I still disagree with your opinion vis-à-vis Spoto. There is a lack of objectivity in his writing that transcends the criteria “an entrée to Dean’s life”. There is a constant negativity explicit throughout the book which attempts to devalue not just his talent as an actor but even more perplexing his worth/status as a movie star. This is made even more egregious by his tired/reductive argument, that he was just another Brando wannabe.

I’m not saying a biography can’t be contentious and provocative, perhaps even attempting to deconstruct a life for a different insight into what made him such a compelling star, i.e. an early death and articulating the frustrations of adolescence. But Spoto has done not just Dean, but himself a disservice, by conforming to an agenda that attempts to diminish at nearly every opportunity, the talent and iconic status of this remarkable actor.

By the way nice avatar, isn’t that from the original Czech, East of Eden poster?

[denti alligator]

By the way nice avatar, isn’t that from the original Czech, East of Eden poster?

Welcome to the forum!

Yours is the nice avatar! Quay Bros represent!

[Aletheia]

Thanks for the welcome. Yeah I’m still waiting for Institute Benjamenta to be re-released on DVD [-o< so I can replace my old VHS copy.

[tojoed]

For anyone interested in F.W Murnau, that's all of you, Lotte Eisner's generally hard to get hold of biography is currently available at Abebooks UK for £20.

[sevenarts]

Is there a good comprehensive book or two about Termite Terrace/Looney Tunes? Something that combines history, anecdotes, info about the creative staff, with some critical perspective and analysis of the actual cartoons...

["membrillo"]

Let me qualify this post by first saying I’ve been fascinated with Dean since I was 14 years old. I must own practically every biography and photo-essay that has been published on this actor. So it’s probably a little difficult for me to be as dispassionate as you suggest Donald Spoto was, when judging the myriad wealth of material that has been written about/around him.

I agree that Dean has been a cipher for numerous biographers, with agendas that attempt to define or redefine his bi-sexuality. Bast and John Gilmore have written legitimately about this component of Dean’s persona, and then you have the ridiculous "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", as lurid and exploitative a text as seemingly possible.

But I still disagree with your opinion vis-à-vis Spoto. There is a lack of objectivity in his writing that transcends the criteria “an entrée to Dean’s life”. There is a constant negativity explicit throughout the book which attempts to devalue not just his talent as an actor but even more perplexing his worth/status as a movie star. This is made even more egregious by his tired/reductive argument, that he was just another Brando wannabe.

I’m not saying a biography can’t be contentious and provocative, perhaps even attempting to deconstruct a life for a different insight into what made him such a compelling star, i.e. an early death and articulating the frustrations of adolescence. But Spoto has done not just Dean, but himself a disservice, by conforming to an agenda that attempts to diminish at nearly every opportunity, the talent and iconic status of this remarkable actor.

By the way nice avatar, isn’t that from the original Czech, East of Eden poster?

Interesting. I can appreciate the observations...and yes - you are correct on the avatar!

[Gregor Samsa]

Is there a good comprehensive book or two about Termite Terrace/Looney Tunes? Something that combines history, anecdotes, info about the creative staff, with some critical perspective and analysis of the actual cartoons...

Michael Barrier's Hollywood Cartoons might be up your alley, though it also focuses a lot on Disney and other studios.

[Narshty]

Can anyone vouch for the Wisconsin/Warner Bros Screenplay Series editions? I'm looking at To Have and Have Not (the one introduced by Bruce Kawin), but only if it's the proper shooting script, not just a transcript of the finished film.

[King Prendergast]

Can anyone vouch for the Wisconsin/Warner Bros Screenplay Series editions? I'm looking at To Have and Have Not (the one introduced by Bruce Kawin), but only if it's the proper shooting script, not just a transcript of the finished film.

As a recall that series is not the shooting scripts proper, or if it is it is so heavily annotated as to lose any semblance of indexical relation to what was actually used on set. If you have access to a on-line script database I would try to use that.

[psufootball07]

Any suggestions as to which Francois Truffaut book I should purchase from Taschen.

Truffaut or François Truffaut?

[SheriffAmbrose]

Any suggestions as to which Francois Truffaut book I should purchase from Taschen.

I'd go with the more expensive of the two. Although I have never seen the cheaper one in person, I assume it is just an abridged version of the other one. If you've never seen any of those Taschen film books, be warned: they are good photo books but the text leaves a lot to be desired. Good pics in the $19.99 one though.

[psufootball07]

Thanks for the info, that's what I was assuming the books were like and I think it looks like it has some great images.

[jdcopp]

The version with Deneuve on the cover is available for "limited preview" at Google Books.

[Murdoch]

Is Jean Douchet's The French New Wave worth picking up? I see someone recommended it on the first page of the thread, but wanted to know if anyone else would endorse it.

[HarryLime]

Is Jean Douchet's The French New Wave worth picking up? I see someone recommended it on the first page of the thread, but wanted to know if anyone else would endorse it.

Well, I imagine you must be a New Wave fan to even consider buying it, so, yes, definitely worth it, if for no other reason than the terrific design and photos. I don't think it will hold a lot of new information for you, however (although some of the reprinted reviews from back in the day are nice to have), and I don't much care for the way the book is organized. But yeah...looks great on the coffee table.